Many households have pets, such as dogs, who require daily feeding by placing and retrieving food and water bowls on the floor level. Many pet owners find it painful or difficult in bending over to accomplish this. The present device provides an apparatus to permit placing and retrieving pet food bowls from a standing position. A vertically moving pet bowl apparatus is hereby provided.
The apparatus has a vertical tower, having a first support column and a second support column. A movable tray may be secured to and located between the first support column and the second support column. The movable tray has a plurality of openings for receiving at least one pet food bowl and/or a water bowl. The movable tray moves vertically between the first and the second support columns so that a user can access the movable tray in the up position and then lower the movable tray to the lower position wherein the pet may gain access to the same. The apparatus allows the user to avoid having to bend down to provide food and water to the pet and instead allows a user to deliver food and water to the pet from an upright standing position. In like manner, the apparatus allows the user to retrieve the (empty) bowls from the lower position at the conclusion of the feeding. A top console secured between the first support column and second support column controls the movement of the movable tray in the up and down position. The device is further easily assembled and dissembled, without the use of tools, for shipping and storage. In an alternative embodiment, the device may have a single support column wherein the pet bowl trays are located on opposing sides of the single support column.
Movable pet dishes are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,479,686 to Johnson discloses a pet feeding and watering system that dispenses pet food and water and has an adjustable height for people with limited mobility. The system has a base platform and a dual food and water dispenser. The dual food and water dispenser includes a vertical chute and a vertical hose. The vertical chute include a plurality of plastic or plexiglass panels that are spaced evenly from the top interior of the chute to the base of the chute in a zigzag configuration. The top of the chute has an open receptacle end where food and water are placed. The vertical hose is attached to the side of the chute by bracket fasteners and runs the length of the chute. The base of the chute includes a funnel mechanism that receives the vertical hose and directs water into a water dish. The chute includes at least one sliding component and one fixed component, where the fixed component has notches that engage a handle attached to the sliding component to secure the chute to the desired height. The pet feeding and watering system can also include a plastic pitcher, marked with incremental measurements, for pouring appropriate amounts of water into the water dispenser. When not in use, the pitcher rests in the chute's open receptacle end.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 8,196,549 to Seagraves discloses assemblies suitable for mounting to, or being an integral part of, an animal enclosure such that the height of a valve-controlled liquid outlet may be adjusted according to the changing needs of growing animals. The adjustable liquid delivery assemblies comprise an elongated rail, a liquid delivery unit having at least one liquid delivery head slideably engaged with the elongated rail, a flexible liquid delivery tube for connecting a liquid delivery head to a liquid source, and a means for securing the liquid delivery unit at a selected position on the elongated rail.
Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 8,082,883 to Aletti discloses a pet food elevating device having a food platform and wheels coupled to the food platform with a vertical track positioned to slidably receive the wheels. A rope is movably engaged with an upper pulley positioned to allow the pet food elevating device to be raised to a desired elevation within the vertical track. A first end of the rope is coupled to the food platform, and a second end of the rope is available to a user of the pet food elevating device to raise or lower the food platform. The second end of the rope may be secured to hold the pet food elevating device at a desired elevation.
Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,263 to Sexton, provides a pet food dish elevating assembly comprising: a main housing unit formed as a generally rectangular shaped box with an essentially hollow interior, a front face and opposing sidewalls, the interior including an electrically powered motor and two large buttons operatively coupled to the motor, the buttons extending through the front face, an axle being rotatably coupled within the side walls and including at least two axle sprockets, a motor sprocket extending from the motor and coupled to a first axle sprocket by a horizontal chain, activation of the motor causing the motor sprocket to rotate thereby rotating the axle of the apparatus; and at least one vertical leg coupled to the main housing unit, a vertical chain being positioned within a leg and around a second axle sprocket, a tray formed in a generally L-shaped configuration being coupled to the vertical chain, a user depressing a first button to move the tray upwardly, a user depressing a second button to move the tray downwardly.
Previous, attempts have been made to provide a vertically moving pet bowl apparatuses. However, the prior art fails to describe a vertically moving pet bowl apparatus which is easy to use and efficient as is described in the present application. Further, these patents fail to provide a vertically moving pet bowl apparatus which allows the user, with minimal effort, to avoid bending over to provide food and/or water to a pet in the described manner.